Cuba pins hopes on China to help save sputtering tourism industry

HAVANA – Cuba is pinning its hopes on attracting more visitors from communist ally China as part of a last-ditch bid to revive a sputtering tourism industry devastated by renewed US sanctions under the Trump administration and a crisis-racked economy.

Visitors from abroad, a critical source of foreign currency on the island, plunged by nearly a third in the first quarter of 2025, according to recent data from its statistics agency, Onei, an ominous sign that has left top officials on the archipelago scrambling for alternatives.

Cuba had forecast 2.6 million visitors in 2025, 18 per cent more than the previous year, but seems unlikely to hit that target as the peak northern winter fades into a sultry Caribbean summer.

“It’s no secret that, recently, our country, and especially the tourism sector, is facing a complex scenario,” said Cuban Tourism Minister Juan Carlos Garcia in a speech on April 30 inaugurating the island’s annual tourism fair – dedicated to China in 2025.

Mr Garcia praised China in his talk, saying the two countries’ close ties of cooperation and friendship had “stood the test of time”.

The Asian giant could prove fertile ground for Cuba, despite the vast physical distance between the two countries.

Air China in May 2024 opened its first direct flight between the two countries, which, while an intimidating 24-hour voyage, has helped boost visitor numbers.

The Chinese are also exempt from obtaining a visa to visit the Caribbean island nation.

Visitors from China in 2024 jumped 50 per cent, bucking the downward trend.

But Russia, Canada, Spain and Italy – for which Cuba has been a popular destination until recently – saw visitor numbers drop in early 2025, according to Onei statistics.

US visitors, including Cuban-Americans, also dropped off sharply in the first quarter.

“It is unfair